In case you have not been paying attention — why would you, it is positively painful — there are several candidates for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board spouting the “diversity” and “equity” code words. Big deal, you say, nothing new. Maybe. Or maybe forces have aligned to start to reconstitute the cross-county busing regime the courts struck down a decade ago. Here’s why.

First, CMS honcho Pete Gorman wants more power to re-assign students any way he wants, without push back from the community. He wants an ironclad, up-or-down policy that CMS can point to and say, “Be quiet” when parents erupt.

I don’t think Pete really cares if there is a “socio-economic diversity” component to that policy or not, but if that is the only he’ll get, he won’t fight it. Then consider all the CMS deadwood at the EdShed who very much do want such a policy and the administrative inertia points in one direction. Oh, and it does not hurt that CMS will not be asking the ‘burbs to pass another school bond anytime soon given the county’s financial situation.

Also consider that moving students from brimming Myers Park — against the will of a powerful lobby — has turned into a necessary component of ever building and populating the Uptown crowd’s much-coveted Uptown high school. You watch, this fight is still coming. When has Uptown ever not gotten what Uptown wants?

Third, consider what just happened in Wake County. Yes, the “diversity” and “equity” candidates there had their heads handed to them. Initially I thought this boded well for Mecklenburg County’s education future. Now I think exactly the opposite. What happened in Wake simply is not on the radar screen among much of Charlotte’s center-right leadership. A few, like County Commissioner Bill James, noted the results, but it seems most did not even know there was an election.

Contrast this with the diversity bloc on the Left, which is positively apoplectic across the state about the Wake results and — I’m now sensing — determined to make a stand in Charlotte in November. In fact, Maximum Leader Hood identifies national Left-wing upset with the Wake outcome. As we already know that electing Anthony Foxx mayor of Charlotte is on the radar screens of the Left nationally, there are some powerful pieces starting to move in this chess match. Grassroots turnout efforts could be massive for an off off-year election.

The Panthers pull out one of the more maddening NFL wins you’ll ever see, immediately followed by Metallica vaporizing the Uptown arena. The timing of the two events reminded me just how small Uptown really is — it would’ve been frightfully snug had the Panthers played at home yesterday. Football fans would be leaving Uptown just as Metallica fans arrived for the 7pm show.

Curiously the arena didn’t get its doors open until 6:10pm, causing a bit of unnecessary angst on the sidewalk outside, not to a mention a near miss with the choo-choo, which CMPD had to keep shooing folks away from, that and a lawsuit waiting to happen crossing gate. No matter. Fans adjusted and delivered one of the louder audiences I’ve heard at a rock show in Charlotte. In fact, drummer Lars Ulrich declared Charlotte his new “best” audience afterward in the band’s tour diary.

Here’s one fave that didn’t make last night’s set list. Can’t crush them all.